Open Road

A young man and woman waited for a bus in downtown Portland. Each of them carried an enormous backpack and bedroll. Their multiple layers of clothing were well worn. He had tattoos on his neck and she wore several strings of beads. Both had long dreadlocks. A bus pulled up and opened its doors. They approached and asked the driver a question.

“Where does this bus go?”

“I go out Barbur Boulevard, through Tigard, and out to Sherwood. Where are you headed?”

The man said, “We want to get out of the city.”

“Well then, you’ll want the thirty-three. You can catch that a couple blocks up,” the driver said.

The two nodded in agreement. He told the driver, “Thanks, man,” and they walked up the street.